6 Ways to Prep Your House for Vacation

Right up there with flying cars and teleporters, the living, breathing, brainy home has to be one of our most vivid techy daydreams. And when your home makes friends with Samsung SmartThings and the Smart Home app, that daydream makes the leap from fantasy to just another day.

It's like your Android devices are the remote control and your house is a very customizable TV—except Smart Home works from across the world. Come vacation time, it's the housesitter that fits in your pocket and won't raid your fridge without permission.

1. Make It Watertight

On vacation, waves of crystal clear water are a good thing. Coming home, they are not—no one wants to open the door to a flood. Pop a SmartThings Water Leak Sensor into the kitchen or bath, and your smart devices will tell if your house's moisture levels or temperature changes, whether you're in Bali or at the ballgame.

2. Spare the Sticky Notes

Your Smart Home can't feed your dog or check your mail (yet) so you might need a friend to pop in once or twice. Skip the sticky notes, save a tree and leave instructions and schedules right on the Family Hub refrigerator's massive touchscreen. And with the Hub's three internal cameras, you'll know if your buddy helped himself to a little more than the cupcakes you left him.

3. Stay Cool (But Not Too Cool)

To minimize your power bill and keep your pets and plants ticking, you'll want to keep your AC at about 82 to 85 degrees while you're jetsetting. Keep cool while you pack and use the Smart Home app to set your AC's temp as you wave goodbye from halfway over the Atlantic.

4. Look Lived In

Your red eye to Europe is barreling onward, and you break out your tablet to watch a flick, read an e-book, or catch up on gaming. Might as well mix pleasure and security—of course you remembered to twist in a few smart light bulbs before you left, so you can control your lighting room by room from across the world. Not even the self-appointed neighborhood watchdog across the street will know you're gone.

5. Get the Updates, Skip the Convo

The Smart Home app and SmartThings are the housesitters that won't gab to you about their boyfriend problems or decimate your fridge. Install a Multipurpose Sensor on your doors or windows before you jet, and your phone7 will let you know if someone's trying to get in immediately. And since your phone can't watch horror movies when it's home alone, it won't be just a false alarm.

6. Save It, Then Share It

Keep it low-key and only tell your inner circle about your vacay. Not only will you stress less, but you'll help keep your home safer if you don't blast your plans over social media. Once you're back in Smart Home central, feel free to plaster your Smart Hub with beach sunsets, tweet out the video collage you made on your phone, and upload every bit of foodography you could handle in Paris.

Photo Credits: Courtney DeSpain/Demand Media

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